JEDDAH, 26 July 2005 — The Kingdom yesterday renewed its condemnation of the terrorist attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh and expressed sympathy with families of the victims.
The Cabinet, which met yesterday under Crown Prince Abdullah, sent condolences to the Egyptian government and people and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Acting Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet authorized Interior Minister Prince Naif to initiate talks with Iran for the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement that would allow the extradition of suspects and convicted individuals from the two countries. Prince Naif had requested the Council of Ministers to authorize him to initiate talks with the Iranian side to prepare a draft agreement on bilateral security between Saudi Arabia and Iran and submit the final copy to the Cabinet for approval.
The crown prince briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of talks and contacts he made over the past week with the leaders of Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Britain and Spain. The talks centered on the developments in the region. The talks also focused on means of strengthening cooperation with those countries.
The Cabinet approved the appointment of Ghassan bin Ahmad Al-Sulaiman as board member of the Human Resource Development Fund replacing Adil Faqeeh who has been appointed Jeddah mayor.
The Cabinet also approved a request by the transport minister for the provision of three modern ferries to transport passengers free between Jizan and Farasan Island. The ministry will chare nominal fees for the transport of vehicles.
In a separate development, two national companies have been banned from recruiting foreign labor for five years for violating labor laws.
